Dedicated to the advancement of the State of Indiana by re-affirming our state's constitutional principles that: all people are created equal; no religious test shall be imposed on our public officials and offices of trust; and no special privileges or immunities shall be granted to any class of citizens which are not granted on the same terms to all citizens.
Advance Indiana, LLC. Copyright 2005-13. All rights reserved.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Ozdemir Trying To Force Taxpayers To Pay For Downtown Stadium For His Soccer Team

The IBJ is reporting that Ersal Ozdemir has hired State House lobbyists to lobby Indiana state lawmakers to create a state funding mechanism for an $87 million soccer stadium he wants to build for his new professional soccer team, Indy Eleven, at an undisclosed location in downtown Indianapolis. According to the report, Ozdemir claims without substantiation that his professional soccer team will generate at least $8 million annually in tax revenues, and that he plans to ask state lawmakers to allow his professional sports franchise to capture up to $5 million annually for stadium costs. “We’re just asking for the money we’re going to create,” Ozdemir said.

Ozdemir wants his organization to be allowed to capture admissions take revenues he anticipates that his team will generate from ticket sales, as well as a portion of state sales and income tax revenues from the downtown Professional Sports Development Area, which was created to allow the Capital Improvement Board to capture revenues to pay the operating and maintenance expenses on Lucas Oil Stadium, none of which are paid by Colts' team owner Jim Irsay. The CIB has also been subsidizing Herb Simon's Indiana Pacers to the tune of at least $10 million a year for the past four years, which like the Colts, pay absolutely no rent for using a sports facility built with taxpayer dollars.

According to the IBJ, former Indiana GOP Chairman Murray Clark, is heading up a team of lobbyists hired by Ozdemir this session in an effort to convince lawmakers to enact legislation authorizing the public subsidy for Indy Eleven's proposed stadium. The team plans to play at IUPUI's Carroll Stadium, which holds up to 11,000 until a new stadium is built, which would hold up to 18,500 fans.

Ozdemir, a Turkish immigrant, has experienced a meteoric rise in his profile as a construction and real estate developer over the past decade that has coincided with large campaign contributions he has doled out to the politicians. Mayor Greg Ballard, one of the largest recipients of campaign contributions from Ozdemir, handed one of his businesses $6.5 million in taxpayer cash to build a mixed retail/parking garage in Broad Ripple after Ozdemir hired Ballard's former chief of staff, Paul Okeson, as a high-paid executive. Ballard also initially appointed Okeson to serve on the Capital Improvement Board that overseas the downtown sports facilities, where he briefly served as the CIB's treasurer. Okeson left the CIB after Ozdemir submitted a proposal to manage the CIB's facilities during a period of time that it considered outsourcing that work.

The CIB, which got a big taxpayer bailout a few years ago after the CIB cooked its books to make it appear that it was insolvent, that included new taxes and state subsidies, is now sitting on more than a $70 million cash surplus while the city of Indianapolis pleads poverty in paying for basic city services. Ballard at that time appointed attorney/lobbyist Bob Grand to head up the Capital Improvement Board despite the fact that his law firm represented Simon family interests, including the Indiana Pacers. Grand brokered the state bailout plan that resulted in tens of millions of dollars in new subsidies flowing to his law firm's client.

What we essentially need is world-wide debt cancellation, not more debt that would be heaped on us by this scheme of Ozdemir and company. "Jim Willie - This Year - Currency Explosion" video posted at GoldenJackass.com calls out for this reform, and the 1/22 14 report at vidrebel.wordpress explains what is really going on:

"The Russo-Chinese Pincer Movement Against the US Treasury and the FED."

I meant to include the words, "and monetary reform" with "world-wide debt cancellation" as what we vigorously should be lobbying for, if we taxpayers have ANY sense, so as to avoid the next great starvation, also termed great depression.

Indianapolis Indians' model seems to work swell w/o any city money. a minor league soccer team should walk before it runs. prediction: soccer won't fly. his latest fiasco, the b.r. parking garage has an 8% average occupancy. city is STILL subsidizing further with IMPD substation.

I think that this may already be a done deal. Last fall, during a IUPUI campus tour, the tour leaders (students) seemed to be pretty specific that the professional soccer stadium would be built on IUPUI land.

This sounds like a stupid idea, but I know that the state and the CIB are eager to spend money on the IU Natatorium, another stadium would be more of the same.

The CIB has a Surplus of about 90 million where giving the pacers 11 million in 14, 20 mill for the pool at IUpui Just watch thats where the money will come from and no one can stop the mayor from doing it!

If nothing else Ozdemir has learned quickly how our system works. Actually it is not that much different any where else in the world find connected people and have them carry the water for what you want.

Anon, 1:02, That's not a far-fetched possibility. I would not at all be surprised to see that sprung on us. Let's see, Ballard gives IUPUI the money it wants to fix up the Natatorium, and IUPUI donates the land of the former tennis center for Ersal's new stadium. If the NSA spying was doing the real job it was supposed to be doing, it would know about money being illegally funneled from Middle East sources into certain conduits in Indianapolis to enrich a few political insiders and pay large bribes to our politicians.

If it goes into the tennis stadium lot, Herron will be moved, again. That parcel will be stadium parking.

They won't want something from 1972 impeding the view of the shiny, new, stadium, and Herron never much liked the law school, anyway. Have there been significant improvements in Herron in the past year? If they're only doing basic maintenance on Herron, you can predict the future for the building.

Ballard may even turn Military Park into parking.

If the Soccer stadium goes into the tennis lot, this also means that IUPUI wants to go Div 1 in Football.

They'll turn the entire North Bank of the canal into an athletic complex that will look great from blimp shots.

It's amazing how the plans are devised long before they're released to the public.

SUPPORT ADVANCE INDIANA

It takes many hours of time to publish content for Advance Indiana. If you enjoy reading the content of this blog, please help out by contributing. You can click on the "Make A Donation" button below to support Advance Indiana by using PayPal. Thanks to all of those readers who have made contributions in the past and continue to support this blog with your contributions. If you would rather support the blog using an alternative source of payment or would like to advertise on this blog, e-mail me at gwelsh@indy.rr.com for more information.

Blogflux

Subscribe To

Comment Policy

Advance Indiana allows you to post comments via this blog subject to the guidelines set forth herein. You understand that any comments you post are your own and are not those of Advance Indiana. You further understand that Advance Indiana is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced in your comments. Unlawful, harassing, defamatory, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive, or otherwise objectionable comments are not acceptable. If you think any content posted or otherwise included in Advance Indiana violates the guidelines set forth herein, then please alert Advance Indiana.
Advance Indiana reserves the right to pre-screen, edit, and remove any post as it deems appropriate. You specifically acknowledge that Advance Indiana has no obligation to display any post submitted or otherwise provided via Advance Indiana.